India’s right-arm fast bowler Mohammad Shami bolstered the Australian batsmen’s line-up in yesterday’s match. A 3-match ODI series between India and Australia is already on air, with the first match being concluded the previous day. India led yesterday’s match by five wickets.
The player who led India to victory in the first ODI series is none other than Mohammad Shami. He scalped a total of 5 wickets, which now brings him to the second position for the highest wickets against Australia among all the Indian bowlers. Kapil Dev tops the list with 45 scalps against the Men in Yellow.
Rest that turned out into practice
During post-match scenes, after being entitled to the Player of the Match award, Shami went on to reveal that he ended up practising more at home than with the team.
He stated, “That break after the WTC final was necessary, as I had been playing non-stop cricket for 6-7 months.” I felt that my body needed some rest. I had a discussion with the coach and captain, and then we decided that I should take a break. But my rest doesn’t feel like rest because I end up practicing more at home. With the kind of setup I have at home, I practice more compared to when I am with the Indian team.”
Mohammad Shami’s opening wicket put Australia off track, and he knocked off Mitchell Marsh’s wicket in the very first over. After that, he went on to pick up three more wickets from Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Short, and Sean Abbott. By registering his best for 5/51, he helped India bowl out Australia for 276 runs off 48.4 overs.
Countering the heat waves
Held in Mohali, the weather conditions seemed inappropriate for the players given the unusually humid climatic conditions. The weather conditions made it difficult for bowlers like Shami to deliver their magic spells. Despite being exhausted, Shami continued his spell gracefully and took five wickets.
In the post-match conference, he also spoke at length about how heat plays a factor in bowling deliveries. He asserted the fact by saying that “the heat does play a factor. After all, we are human beings. “It can take a toll on your body, but after playing international cricket for so long, I am habituated to handling such conditions. “When the wickets are unresponsive, you have to put in that extra effort with the ball, so you will naturally see fast bowlers bowling shorter spells because of that.”
India and Australia will be seen facing each other for the remaining two ODI series in Indore on September 24 and in Rajkot on September 27, respectively.
